By Aminu Garko
As World Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated today, Over 400 Adolescent Girls and Out of School Girls were Sensitized on how to take care of themselves during the menstrual period in Kano.
The sensitization programme was organized today Wednesday by the Kano State Ministry of Education in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women Affairs to Students of Government Girls Arabic Secondary School Gwammaja.
The programme is aimed at increasing access to menstrual health hygiene knowledge among adolescent girls and ensuring affordable menstrual products through economic stimulation for girls and women entrepreneurs.
Addressing the participants, State Coordinator Girls Education, Ministry of Education Amina Kassim disclosed that during the programme, the adolescent girls and young women would be educated on how to take control of their menstrual health.
Amina Kassim added that the programme would address limitations of adolescent girls as regards to awareness on menstrual hygiene and access to affordable menstrual products.
She revealed that the Ministry in collaboration with other relevant MDAs would continue to enlighten adolescent girls and young women on the significance of menstrual health and what they should do during the period.
The adolescent sexual reproductive health focal person Zahra’u Ibrahim from the State Primary Health Care Management Board explained that the World Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated to demonstrate the importance of menstrual hygiene to the general well-being of adolescent girls and young women.
” As you can see most of the people think that menstrual period is something not to talk about. Sometimes, it stops girls from going to school because they lack the knowledge of how to take proper care of themselves” she stated.
Zahra’u therefore appealed to the government to make sanitary products available to the girls and improve the sanitary condition of their toilets so as to have happiest menstrual period while in school.
On her part, the founder Dina Youth Foundation Lubabatu Abdulkadir disclosed that through the organization, Kano State Government is providing free sanitary pads, detergent and soap to adolescent girls across the 44. local government areas of the state
During the program, menstrual products were distributed to 400 adolescent girls and 30 out of school girls by the state government through the foundation.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Maryam Ishaq Muhammad expressed their gratitude to the organizers of the programme, stressing that…..” this programme will go along way in providing us with knowledge of how to fully take care of ourselves during menstrual period”.
Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management at a global level.
